Sleep is something we often give up too easily in everyday life. Just finishing something for work, scrolling through your social media account or watching that series on Netflix. Nice excuses that we often hear as coaches.
However, sleep is one of the most important recovery factors for your body. It not only ensures that you are more productive the next day and can therefore get more done, but also that you can build more muscle mass and lose more fat. For example, an athlete who only sleeps 5 hours has 30 – 40% less results and recovery than someone who sleeps 8 or 9 hours per night.
If you compromise on your sleep every day, you may be less productive the next day, be able to get less out of your training, recover less and move less due to your fatigue, which in turn results in a delay in progression . In addition, you will quickly compensate for the energy you lack by eating more, because you have to get your energy from somewhere.
Sleep ensures that you:
• Have more energy throughout the day
• Builds more muscle mass
• Lose more fat
• Have less stress
How many hours do I need?
If you wake up rested and have enough energy for the day, you can say that you sleep well. I would personally recommend that you sleep at least 6-9 hours a day.
Sleep duration is important, but sleep quality is perhaps even more important!
Practical tips for sleeping:
• Provide a dark, quiet and cool room.
• Make sure you relax before you go to sleep. However, this does not mean that you have to spend hours watching television or scrolling on your phone, because these light stimuli also deteriorate the quality of your sleep. Reading a book or listening to a podcast is therefore a perfect solution.
• Try to maintain fixed sleeping times.
• It is best not to drink caffeine or alcohol before going to sleep, as this deteriorates the quality of your sleep.
• Don't drink too much water before you go to bed so that you don't have to get up three times to pee in the middle of the night.
Finally, I would like to tell you that someone who uses anabolic steroids and sleeps poorly is overtaken by the person who does not do this and sleeps well.
Luuk van Lievenoogen
Enforce Master Trainer
luuk@enforce.nl
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